The invention concerns a room air ionizer consisting of a housing provided with an air outlet and inside of which are arranged spray electrodes connected to a high-voltage generator for the production of negative ions, and a fan to ingest preferably pre-filtered air into the housing and to blow it out over the brush-electrodes through the air outlet.
It is known that negative ions, particularly small ions which are absorbed on gas molecules contained in the air that is breathed by living creatures, have a generally favorable influence on the well-being of these creatures, e.g., the negative ions are known to stimulate their vital functions. For example, such negative ions have been found to activate and enhance the lives of human beings. On the other hand, positive ions, primarily large ions attached to solid impurities in the air, e.g., dust and smoke, have a disturbing and suppressing effect on living creatures, e.g., they induce quick fatigue, reduce vitality and render the organism more susceptible to infections.
Atmospheric electricity has a significant bearing also on biological phenomena in that organisms are best suited to a direct electrical voltage field directed from a positive atmosphere (space charge) towards the earth. Such conditions prevail in open air in fine weather. At a space charge (atmospheric charge) of 10.sup.-17 Asec./cm.sup.3 at ground level, the magnitude of the voltage drop of this field close to the ground is approximately 130 V/m. Under the influence of this electric field, the positive ions in body will migrate in the direction of this field, i.e., from top to bottom, and the negative ions will migrate in the opposite direction i.e., from bottom to top. This migration of ions accounts for the fact that a strong atmospheric disturbance of the electric field, e.g., foehn and thunderstorm, cause functional disorders in organisms. For example, in humans such disturbances will cause, to a varying extent, sensitivity to weather, headaches, heart complaints, migraines, tiredness, listlessness, etc.
It has been known for a long time that in urban buildings of conventional construction which contain large quantities of reinforced concrete, an entirely unsatisfactory room climate prevails due to the general pollution of the air. More specifically, there is a considerable surplus therein of large positive ions, and due to the screening effect of the metal in the structure of the building, a considerably attenuated direct electric field is present on which, in certain circumstances, a strong alternating electric field may be superposed. For an equally long time, sustained efforts have been made to improve by artificial means such an undesirable room atmosphere and to convert it to the optimum climate which prevails in the nature in open air, e.g., in the clean air found in forests and during fine weather.
As a result of a long series of developments, modern room air ionizers have been developed which are operationally reliable and are capable of producing, in rooms, not only any desired ion density but also direct or uniform electric fields of any desired intensity and direction. In order to obtain the ion density required for a room in a dwelling by means of a room air ionizer, not only the technical parameters of the ionizer, e.g., the air throughput and the ion generation are important, but also the location of its mounting. Whilst the output of the selected ionizer has to match the volume of the respective room, the determination of the best place of mounting the ionizer is rather critical; if time-consuming experiments are to be avoided, this requires considerable practical experience. It therefore often happens that a satisfactory room climate is not achieved, only because the apparatus was located at an unfavourable location. With respect to the selection of the location of the ionizer, the governing factor is the so-called normal state of the room, such as the number, size and position of the windows and doors, the mode of heating, the type and location of furniture, work place, the number of persons usually present in the room, etc. But even if the site of mounting is chosen optimally, changes in this normal state of the room in question lead to changes in the distribution of the ion density in the room, which can only be balanced out to a certain degree by the adjustment of the operational, such as variation in the speed of the fan and variation in the high-voltage supply to the spray electrodes. Of the available compensating factors, not only the magnitude, but also the location of the disturbance may be decisive. Thus, e.g., a smoker entering the room may upset the distribution of the ion density which can no longer be compensated for by adjustment of the operational parameters when it happens at a certain point in the room (disturbance of air circulation).
The aim of the invention is therefore to provide an air ionizer for enclosed spaces (rooms), which not only affords greater freedom in the selection of its site but also enables one to take into account particularly disturbance-prone regions of the room.
The essential advantage of the invention is that once the site of the ionizer has been selected, its operation can be optimized solely by adjusting the spherical nozzles thereon and the ion supply for the respective regions of the room can be weighted. With the air ionizer according to the invention, it is not necessary to choose a new location for the ionizer when changes in the conditions in the room take place and, due to the effectiveness of the speed variation of the fan and variation in the high voltage fed to the spray electrodes, a satisfactory room climate can be maintained in a much simpler way than has been possible hitherto.
The invention will now be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments thereof, when taken with the following discussion.